AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Judging by his expression, I hadn't been helpful at all.
"Right, the kids. They have families of their own now, though. Our youngest only cared about whether we were keeping the house. She's my ‘failure to launch’ child," Mark lowered his voice as if she might show up at the party. "Anyway, I tried online dating, but half of those profiles don't even look human. My buddy dragged me here."
I followed Mark's gaze to the other end of the room, past Thea and her partner, to a table of gray-haired singles congregating around a man with suspiciously dark hair for his age.
"He's a bit of a wild card. I told him I wasn't ready, but what are you going to do?"
"Friends, right?" I laughed. "My buddy dragged me here, too."
Mark nodded, following my pointed finger to Thea as the song wrapped up. She smiled at her partner, cheeks pink and skin glowing, effortlessly turning down a second dance before searching for me. Her sparkling gray eyes found mine and she shot me a wink before making her way towards us.
"Buddy?" Mark snorted. "If I had a buddy like that, I wouldn't be bringing her to singles events."
"Trust me, I didn't want to bring her here."
Mark clapped my back and bid me good luck as he crossed the dance floor.
"Make a new friend?" Thea teased, slipping the gin and tonic out of my hand and taking a sip. She wore a flapper inspired dress and sparkling black beads brushed against me every time she moved.
"I was trying. I think you scared him off."
Thea wrapped her arm through mine and pulled me toward the bar. "Well, I just met the most fascinating man. He works on an oil rig."
I raised an eyebrow and glanced back at her dance partner. He had a slim build and big hair. Not exactly a guy who screamed "oil rig worker," but what did I know? Most people didn't take me for a wild animal wrangler either. "Interesting. Did you get his number?"
She smacked my chest and pulled me into an unoccupied seat at the bar. "He only spends one week a month in New England. The rest of the time, he's on a rig."
"You don't think that's ideal?" I joked. "Following some guy who works on a rig?"
She shook her head. "And leave you behind? After you refused to move away after graduation, I made peace with the fact you'd never leave."
I loved where I grew up and couldn't imagine living anywhere else. But I'd been surprised that Thea had never left. Besides a summer in New York shortly after graduation, she'd flit in and out of town for her clothing business, but she never talked about selling her house. And she rarely went more than a couple of weeks without coming back home.
"Is that why you never moved away?" I asked, frowning.
Thea pursed her lips, taking two drinks from the bartender with a smile that didn't quite reach her eyes. She handed me an ice cold glass and took a sip of her own with a shrug. "I tried. A couple of times. I interviewed for a job in Boston, and I got an offer from some studio in L.A., but when it came time to tell you, I couldn’t do it."
"I always wanted you to be happy, Thea. You never had to stay in Franklin Notch just because of me."
The DJ transitioned from an upbeat dance beat to a slower song and Thea swayed on her feet, brushing her shoulder against my chest. "I couldn't stand the thought of not being near you."
My fingers gripped the chilled drink as she stilled, her body pressed against mine, and her lips turned up. I wrapped my free hand around her waist, pulling her close, and she sucked in a breath when I dipped my head, lips just inches from hers.
"Admit it, Thea. You're in love with me."
She sighed, her eyes on my lips and her body soft in my hands. Raising up on her heels, she kissed me.
CHAPTER26
Thea
The words burnedon my lips.
I’d told Ben I loved him a million times before. But three words that were once a nearly nightly refrain suddenly seemed scary and uncertain. They’d morphed into three loaded words that would change a relationship that had been comfortingly reliable for decades. A relationship that had withstood death and distance and hormones.
But with Emily’s words still banging around my head and the exhaustion of near-constant change, I pushed them back.
“Are you ready for bed? I’m tired,” I whispered into his ear.
